Transformation is Beyond Us

God reminded me that He does the work of transformation.

During a 36 hour pass to visit with one of our sons-- between 9 weeks of Basic Training (Army Boot Camp) and 5 weeks of AIT (Advanced Infantry Tactics/Training)-- God gave me a glimpse that He continues to fill in the foundation of our parenting with His special direction unique to each child.

This was a very sweet time of interacting and watching our son's behavior, speech, and spirit reflect more of the kingdom purposes and some of those lessons we wanted instilled in him refined, developed, and solidified.

As much as we would like all of these things done before they leave home, that is not necessarily God's plan. Though we have a responsibility to shape, encourage, exhort, discipline and teach our children, the transformation of our children's hearts and lives is beyond our capabilities. 

So, I am encouraging you younger parents to set your expectations to the higher calling but remember that God does the transforming and will often use situations beyond you to refine your children. It is not all up to you! God is amazing. Be in awe of what He can do with a lump of clay.

Cicadas and Sin

I do not think I will get used to the sound of cicadas. They are a new creature to me since moving to Kentucky. We went on a family outing to a forest and our children begged to leave because their minds were being confused by the irritating noises. Being the homeschool mom I am, I made them research the annoying critters but one child asked if they could keep it brief because even the thought of them irritates his brain.

What we discovered later is that the cicadas like any wooded area and they found our backyard. Now their constant buzzing is disrupts the pleasantness of being in our own yard for most of the summer. We have come to pronounce them, in our family as Sick-a-duz (sick of those).

These nasty critters do serve a useful purpose, however, because you can use them an illustration of how sibling bickering sounds to parent's ears.

I wonder if this is what my sin sounds like to my loving and holy God? Is my sin a constant buzzing in His ears? Is my sin like the screech of crunching metal? If my praise is a sweet sound to Him, then certainly when I sin, it must be one an annoying noise that begs Him to move away from me so He does not need to hear it anymore.

As the nights turn colder, the cicadas begin to die. Our backyard is peaceful.

I should have had to die so that God no longer hears the annoying buzz of my sin. Instead, Jesus died. Now there is peace with God. Thank You, God.  But when those sins creep back into my heart, I must die to myself, confess my sin and He is faithful and just to forgive me of those sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (annoying noises!). Thus, I can have peace with God. "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1

a poem for times of transformation

A friend sent me this devotional poem in a time of darkness. She did not know but my heavenly Father did and ministered to me through this sweet fragrance of His grace.

Beside my cottage door it grows, The loveliest, daintiest flower that blooms, A sweet brier rose. At dewy morn or twilight’s close, The rarest perfume from it flows, This strange wild rose. But when the raindrops on it beat, Ah, then, its odors grow more sweet, About my feet. Often with loving tenderness, Its soft green leaves I gently press, In sweet caress. A still more wondrous fragrance flows, The more my fingers close, And crush the rose. Dear Lord, oh let my life be so, Its perfume when stronger winds blow, The sweeter flow. And should it be Your blessed will, With crushing grief my soul to fill, Press harder still. And while its dying fragrance flows, I’ll whisper low, “He loves and knows His crushed brier rose.”

I always encourage my children to learn more information about subjects. This poem's author may have studied some attributes of this rose which I share with you. Now, an appropriate application and delicate reminder would be to plant a Sweet Briar Rose. Botanical: Rosa rubiginosa

The flowers of the Sweet Briar are a little smaller than those of the Dog Rose and generally of a deeper hue, though of a richer tint in some plants than in others. They are in bloom during June and July. The fruit is eggshaped, its broadest part being uppermost or farthest from the stem.

The specific name rubiginosa signifies, in Latin, 'rusty,' the plant having been thus named as both stems and leaves are often of a brownish-red tint. It delights in open copses, though is sometimes found also in old hedgerows and is more specially met with in chalk districts in the south of England.

Its fragrance of foliage is peculiarly its own and has led to it holding a cherished place in many old gardens. Under its older name of Eglantine its praises have been sung by poets.

It takes a shower to bring out the full sweetness of Sweet Briar, when its strong and refreshing fragrance will fill the air and be borne a long distance by the breeze. Though the leaves are so highly odorous, the flowers are almost entirely without scent.

Sweet Briar only obtains a place among perfumes in name, for like many other sweetscented plants, it does not repay the labour of collecting its odour, the fragrant part of the plant being destroyed more or less under treatment. An Essence under this name is, however, prepared, compounded of various floral essences so blended as to resemble the spicy fragrance of the growing plant. In olden days the Sweet Briar was used medicinally.

Information and image obtained from

http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/roses-18.html

poem from "Streams in the Desert", compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

Transitions Take Time and Make Messes

This summer our middle son and a friend resided with us while they took a break from studies to work so they could resume their studies (without incurring more debt). So, they loaded up two cars and a van and moved back into the dorms. In the spirit of college life, this was done at the last possible moment choreographed with the washing machine and dryer twirling nonstop for all day and most of the night. The busy beehive of activity reminded me that transitions require TIME and make MESSES. In order to fill a box, a shelf needs to be emptied. In order to stuff a car, other objects need to be strewn across the floor to see how to finish the jigsaw puzzle. And then there is the small refrigerator with leftover food that was ignored for a parent to discover. I have not ventured into the unknown cavern of the bedroom closet yet. Of course, in all humility, I tried to clear off my desks (kitchen and school) this week. I gave up and used the box method. The desks are now cleared but the items are stuffed in boxes to help me reorganize the desks to my purposes. So, this is not a problem with just college students! Any transition needs time to work through and we need to allow ourselves the extra time to work through those transitions. I am very aware of this in the kitchen as our transition to healthier eating (and my MP limitations) requires even more food to be made from scratch. Since God has only given each of us the same amount of time and brings these transitions into our lives, I need to go to Him for wisdom in how to budget the time for His purposes. Also, my attitude is challenged to relax about the messes. This is part of the process. Transitions are messy. I can fuss but messes also take time to clean up and this goes back to my comment on time. Transitions can be messy and require time in another way: They have a tendency to reveal my heart and my sin that God wants to deal with in His way. I need to budget time to confess my sin and take every thought captive to Christ as He sanctifies me so, in my transition, I am transformed to His likeness. Lord, please help me use time to deal with the messes of my heart while I take time for transitional messes.

Mood Mugs

Okay, this is another coffee story. However, I also drink herbal tea so it is also a tea story--and for my kids, it is a hot chocolate story. I have discovered I have "mood mugs". As most of you, I have been given an assortment of mugs. I find that I select which to use based on my mood or where my thoughts are going for that day--or where I need to redirect my thoughts for that day! A friend gave me a mug that proclaims one of the many verses we use to encourage one another, "Be still and know that I am God." Another is just uniquely pretty with a subtle green transforming into bronze. One mug is HUGE! Ready for one of those times I feel the need to have a larger portion and still call it just a cup :) When we first moved here, I regularly used a mug from my husband's work to remind me to pray for his new employment. Now, I often use the one that declares "Army Strong" as I reflect upon my fourth child's new adventures. and lift him up to the True Strength-Giver. I have pretty mugs, different colored mugs, light-hearted mugs and special mugs because of who gave them to me. My children prefer the penguin, Christmasy-snowflake, or leopard-spotted mugs, though the black BIG mugs are also popular (they get part of that strategy from me, but mostly from their father). Moods are transitional. I cannot depend on them. Every thought needs to be taken captive to Christ. I must bring them under His truth and authority by His grace. Thus, He transmutes my moods: Transforming or transitioning them from lead into gold that brings praise to HIM. As goes my clothes' closet it would be probably be wise to clean out my mug cupboard. Would that be as hard as getting rid of books that have become friends? However, I know that there are some mugs that are largely ignored. So, I think the time has come to transition them from my house to a place where they could meet another's need or mood. In fact, I know what I will do: I will give them to my immigrant friends and recent refugees to our city. God has brought these special friends into our lives in the midst of our transition and their transition. Sharing my mood mugs is just another way of sharing in the other person's lives--and when I go to their house, they will share their chia tea with us. Maybe God will take this simple act and transmute my humble offering to bring about His transformation in their lives.

Is It Worth It?

This is not an easy question to answer usually because I am in a difficult situation when I ask it. I have heard many young moms ask this when they are tired (okay, probably moms of older children, as well) but I can say, "Absolutely, it is worth it." Forgiveness is worth giving. Homeschooling is worth doing. Marriage is worth protecting. Prayer is worth saying, if it is to the One True God. Evangelism is worth pursuing. Family is worth building. God's way is worth following. But then there are other things that are just not worth going through trials to achieve: I will not work at being a geek, or keeping manicured nails, or run really fast, or . . . Right now, I am believing that following the Marshall Protocol will be worth it. As I have mentioned before, I have been warned that symptoms will reappear and be even worse than before due to poisons released as the bacteria die. In fact, at our last support group meeting, some people mentioned that it felt like you had a really bad hangover--but you can just work through it. Well, I did not consider this particular comment very much maybe because I never experienced a hangover. That was until I bumped up the minocycline dosage(the first antibiotic). 24 hours later, I was a fuzzball. I could not think. I felt like I was moving through water with constant pressure around me. Everything bothered me both internally and externally. I wanted to close everything out. Nothing seemed to help except maybe time. I mused to my husband that if this is what a hangover feels like, why do people get drunk? Is it worth it? When my mind returned to me, I pondered that when in sin, I do not ask this question, "Is it worth it?" Or, if I do ask the question, I justify my actions, or make shallow responses. I do not want to or choose not to ask this question: Is it worth it? If I honestly did ask this question, I would see that the sin that so easily entangles me is not worth it--not for the immediate or earthly consequences, but also not in light of the weight of glory of my Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal plan in my life. Bitterness is not worth holding. Ignorance is not worth keeping . Division is not worth the cost. Failing to pray is not worth the time "it saves". Timid in proclaiming the gospel is not worth the life. Easily irritated is not worth the destruction. Turning from God's way is not worth the consequences. I am considering these things when my mind is clear. I pray that I will also think them when it is dulled by bacterial poison or the subtle poison of temptation. Is it worth it? Is it worth it to face the consequences of my sin? Is it worth it to negatively affect those around me? Is it worth it to turn one heart from Christ? Is it worth it to make it so God does not hear my prayer? Is it worth it to put nails through my Lord's hands?

The Purpose of Transitions

". . . but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . ." Romans 12:2b

God, in His infinite wisdom, uses the very transitions of this life to transform me. This is not an easy path for me. I, by nature, like the routines of life. I like schedules, organization, nice little boxes where everything has its own spot. I like to wake at the same time and begin our homeschooling day at the same time. I like to shop (well, I never truly like to shop) at the same store and when I find a particularly yummy latte, it is hard to order something else. But, it is my desire to be transformed because this is what my Lord desires. And transitions are often His tools. To understand this very fact is one of the ways that my mind is renewed. I need to see transitions through His love and not my unyielding heart. God has strung a particularly difficult set of transitions together for my transformation. Though I will be sharing about those and the paths along the way, I never want to lose sight that those transitions are His plans so that I can transformed into His likeness.